Choosing a Humanities Course

Many students ask, "Why should I take a Humanities course?"

There are several reasons. By learning the humanities, you will learn to:
  • Think through your own ideas with help from the world's greatest thinkers
  • Apply your creative abilities to new problems
  • Communicate your thoughts and feelings more clearly
  • Interact successfully with people of diverse backgrounds
People who love the humanities may choose a career as:
  • Analyst for companies requiring insightful employees
  • Curator of a museum or gallery
  • Designer of educational computer software
  • Elementary or secondary school teacher
  • Free-lance magazine writer
In any career, the humanities will help you to:
  • Reason through new problems and important decisions
  • Analyze and interpret symbolic expression of all kinds
  • Work in a team with different kinds of people
  • Be sensitive to the diverse cultural influences in family and workplace
  • Savor the beauty of the world around you

In order to receive an associates degree, each student is required to take Humanities Courses.

  • But which course is right for you?
  • Are some courses more beneficial for your major?

These are all great questions. Choosing courses that address your interests and area of study will enhance your experience at Valencia, so we have put together the following list to help you choose a Humanities Course.

All Humanities courses challenge students to use critical thinking and to understand the creative and intellectual arts in a new way. So regardless of the course you choose, your education will be enhanced by these courses.

Foreign Culture

All Humanities courses offer an integrated approach to the creative arts and intellectual developments. Some courses offer this integrated approach as a means of studying a foreign culture. So if you are studying or interested in international relations, politics, foreign languages, etc., one of the following courses might be of interest to you:

  • Asian Humanities
  • Latin American Humanities
  • Middle Eastern Humanities

Philosophy

Some courses emphasize philosophy more than others, as philosophical developments were central to the culture in that era. So if you are studying or interested in philosophy, the following courses might be of interest to you:

  • Philosophy
  • Enlightenment and Romanticism
  • Greeks and Romans

Religion

Some courses emphasize religion more than others, as religious developments were central to the culture in that era. So if you are studying or interested in religion, the following courses might be of interest to you:

  • Late Roman Early Medieval
  • Renaissance and Baroque
  • Middle Eastern Humanities